There were times over the last week when Chris MacDonald found himself in the middle of nowhere, the heat bearing down on him, fatigue overcoming him, weeping like a baby. He didn’t know why, but the tears kept coming.
A couple hours later, pedaling his bicycle up a steep hill or through a scorching plains, MacDonald would feel as high as he’s ever felt.
Competing in a race that takes you across 3,051.7 miles and 14 states with little rest in between creates emotions that you may not have known you have. If nothing else, the Race Across America humbles you.
“You can be in the mountains, with no one to talk to, and you quickly get a little too close to your own thoughts,” said MacDonald, a 32-year-old former resident of Mukilteo.
“I cried every morning from the third day on. Then you finish your crying, get on with things and a couple hours later you’re in a euphoric state, and then you fall back again. The emotional highs and lows were the real eye-openers.”
MacDonald, a Mariner High School graduate who now is a physiologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, made a smashing debut in the RAAM. He crossed the finish line just after noon Eastern time Wednesday to finish second overall in the men’s solo division of the grueling race that took riders from San Diego to the boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J. MacDonald finished the race in 10 days, two hours and one minute.
Jure Robic, a professional soldier from Slovenia, repeated as the race champion by finishing about 18 hours ahead of MacDonald. Robic was only off of his bike for a total of eight hours the entire race.
What goes through ones mind when finally completing what has been called the toughest sporting event in the United States?
“Just a tremendous sense of relief,” MacDonald said. “Relief from the mental fatigue and the physical fatigue, and a thankfulness to be in one piece. There were just so many emotions.”
MacDonald’s finish culminated what had been a three-year commitment to prepare for the race.
He actually first heard about the race five years ago, when he began cycling seriously. He was intrigued by the idea of testing himself in such a difficult way and started training two years ago, riding about 80,000 kilometers last year to prepare. To qualify for the RAAM, a rider must cover 425 miles in 24 hours during a qualifying race. MacDonald competed in two qualifiers, and set course records in both.
“Because of that, people knew we had the horse power to go with the top riders,” MacDonald said. “But nobody figured us in for the top five. I knew I had the physical capabilities, but the race is so much more than how fast you can ride. It’s really a battle with yourself, and (the organizers) spare nothing to challenge you. If they can find a hill to send you up, they do it.”
While MacDonald was a rookie in the RAAM, he wasn’t a rookie to high-level competition. He was a member of the U.S. National Rowing team for four years and competed in the 1996 Olympic Trials.
But the RAAM was a different story. In the 23 years of the event, there has never been a 50 percent or better completion rate in any race, meaning fewer than half of those who start actually finish. In fact, only about 120 individuals have ever finished the race.
That statistic almost included MacDonald.
After sticking with Robic for the first 100 miles, the course took MacDonald into Death Valley, Calif., where temperatures reached 116 degrees. Despite drinking gallons of fluid, MacDonald said every muscle below his waist cramped up and he was passed by every other rider. He had to climb into one of the RVs of his support team and get rehydrated with salt water through an IV.
That’s the first time he considered dropping out, but it wasn’t the last.
“People who know me know me as someone who never quits at anything,” MacDonald said. “But this race pushes you so hard, and as hard as you push, it pushes harder. You reach a certain point and then you start thinking that you haven’t seen anything yet. You’ve still got 2,000 miles to go. It takes some courage and teaches some lessons.”
MacDonald rode on, supported by a team of 18 in four vehicles and two motor homes. And boy, did he need them.
To be competitive, riders can’t be off of their bikes more than 31/2 hours in a 24-hour period. And then there’s the body’s fuel needs. MacDonald consumed about 22,000 calories a day (the average person burns 2,000). Still, fatigue was always there, and there were several times when MacDonald’s crew pulled him off the course, checking his mental state and forcing him to rest.
“The relationships are the things that stand out the most,” MacDonald said. “You become completely dependent on others. After you’ve been on a bike for 24 hours, forget about the idea of dressing yourself. You can’t bend down anymore. You can’t put your shoes on. You need help getting off of the toilet. It really was a team effort.”
Still, it wasn’t all pain and suffering. There were times when MacDonald could see through the physical and mental torture and appreciate just what was going on around him.
“I saw some of the most beautiful countrysides I’ve ever seen,” MacDonald said. “There were times when I was totally alone, and on one of those highs, and man, it was beautiful.”
MacDonald battled near the front for much of the race. At the end, he overtook RAAM veteran Fabio Biasiolo in Maryland to move into second place. He held that spot through Pennsylvania and, finally, New Jersey.
Now, with the race behind him, MacDonald said he’s looking forward to a month of rest to get his body back to normal. When asked if he plans on competing in the race again, he says he’s going to sleep on it, and he means it. Nearly 11 hours after finishing the race, he had only slept for two hours.
“I’m looking forward to debriefing my brain,” MacDonald said. “There are so many thoughts and memories, but right now, they’re all jumbled together. Once I get some rest, I’ll be able to better appreciate what I did and what I saw. Right now, I’m just thankful to get to rest and relax.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
